Townsville

Up early to the markets this morning and they were very busy.  They were better than I remember and there was loads of great produce to buy.  We didn't buy much though as we are trying to clean out the fridge in the lead up to our trip to Hamilton Island.  I managed to do some damage in a couple of shops open along the main street in association with the markets.  I got an Ecoya candle (my favourite), a set of pyjamas for Max and a summer nightie for me, both half price as they were obviously old stock, but fabulous all the same. On to The Strand for the Cultural Festival and it was busy busy.  They had a main stage with performances like dances and singing and heaps of food stalls with cuisine including Thai, Indian, Sri Lankan, Solomon Islands, Italian, and then heaps of dessert places.  The kids had a rainbow frozen slushy thing - holy food colouring and preservatives.  Rick and I ate a Sri Lankan curry with chickpeas and vegies which was pretty yum and some deep fried dessert ball swimming in syrup.  It was a hit. We sat and people watched and soaked up the atmosphere and entertainment for about 2 hours.  Sadly it was a dry zone with plenty of police everywhere.  A little vino would have gone down perfectly. The kids ran around and happily played.  It made both Rick and I homesick for the grandparents and familia.  We wish you were with us and lived just around the corner from you.  Home to the caravan and we put Zachie to sleep, the kids in front of a DVD and Rick took off to Bunnings.  Some bike riding and scootering when dad got home and it was time for dinner.  Sausages and veg and off to bed so mum and dad could watch the final of The Block and the premier of Underbelly, both of which were pretty disappointing.  Big news though, just before bed Miss Scarlett lost her first tooth, her front bottom right hand tooth and she was elated with excitement.  We had to search for it as it obviously fell out while she was eating and she realised it wasn't in her mouth anymore.  We found it on the floor when I stepped on it and all made a huge fuss.  She was beaming and couldn't get to get to bed quick enough so the tooth fairy would visit.  Its a shame those teeth don't fall out more often.